The Heralds of Harmony
by Shadow10503
Summary: What will happen when Ash is raised as a part of another family and they eventually turn him out for who he is? Are their assumptions about him correct? Or, will an ancient prophecy, older even than his family, change everything completely?
1. The Black Dragon's Curse

**Author's Note**

**Disclaimer: I, in know way, own Pokemon. Though I wish I could, as do most, if not all, of you reading this story.**

**Hello everyone, this is the prologue of a new story that I'm working on. I hope you like it but I will also say that the start of this chapter may not be for those who have experienced traumatic events in the past or are 'faint of heart' as some people say. Though, I don't believe that phrase is fair on such people as it implies that it is some sort of weakness but I think it only shows that they have a stronger sense of empathy for others in cases such as that in this story. It is not that the event that may cause this will actually take place but it nearly does and, I don't know myself as I have never experienced it, I imagine that simply the mention of it is enough to bring back horrible memories for some people who have experienced it. If you wish to question my use of if then please read the note at the end of the chapter as I will explain it further there. So if you wish to skip it then avoid the first few paragraphs.**

**Anyway, on to the lighter topics. This is a story that I thoroughly look forward to writing in the future as I am starting right from the beginning and have no idea exactly how far I will go with it. Though you will find out next chapter the minimum that it will go to. I won't be satisfied until I reach that point so I can guarantee you that I will be writing until then, unless everyone hates the story.**

**As with my other story, I will happily listen to any ideas you guys want to throw at me for incorporation into the story. Though, if you send it through a PM you may have to specify which story.**

**Wow, I really can't think of an awful lot to say... Oh! This is the start of my regular updating system, I will be attempting to release one new chapter at the beginning of each month from now on. It may be a few days either side and I may not always be able to meet that deadline so please bear with me and don't bug me too much if I miss it, I do know you're waiting.**

**Well, now I really can't think of anything else to say here, so on with the story!**

**Speech types:  
**"Normal Speech"  
_"Telepathic Speech"  
__'Private Thoughts'  
_'Quoting Someone/Something'

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**!Happy New Year Everyone!**

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**Prologue – The Black Dragon's Curse**

An eight year old girl was curled up in a ball, her back pressed against a wall of ice. She wore light blue shorts and a light blue shirt which matched her long, sky-blue hair. She screamed in pain as an older and larger boy kicked her in the side.

This boy was not alone, beside him were two others and the state of the girl clearly indicated that she had suffered several kicks and punches from them. The central boy, that one would rightly assume to be the ringleader, delivered another kick before speaking to the girl in a harsh tone. "This is just a warning. If you ever think your better than us just because of who your family are then we'll hurt you even more." The other two boys snickered as the girl lay on the floor, crying in pain. "Hey, why don't we have some fun to finish off? I heard it's really nice when a girl plays with your privates."

"Cool, maybe we should try it then. You go first." Another of the boys said. The central boy lowered his trousers and underwear. Just as he was about to take a step towards the girl a loud crack echoed around the cave and the boy froze in place.

The other boys looked at him and saw a foot driven firmly into his crotch. The girl looked up in fear, only to find that someone had finally come to find her. "Leave Clair alone!" A boy, a year younger than her, yelled as his victim collapsed to the floor in pain. She instantly recognised the boy. He was her playmate for several years and they were the best of friends. Her eyes shone with newfound hope as she saw his black hair and chocolate eyes.

"What do you think you're doing, Ash? If you don't get out of here we'll hurt you too." One of the boy's cronies threatened, clearly not at all fazed by the appearance of the boy three years younger than him.

"Yeah right!" The boy, now known as Ash, yelled. Though he put up a brave front he knew that the only reason he was able to harm any of them was that he had surprised them. "You lot are just wimps!"

"That does it!" The third boy yelled. He and his comrade dived at Ash and an all-out brawl soon followed. Clair, the young girl, watched in horror as the boy that had come to her rescue was quickly overpowered and beaten roughly, over and over again.

Ash soon lay on the floor panting, covered in bruises and small cuts. The other two boys decided they had finished and dragged their leader with them as they left. Though they overpowered Ash quickly, several large bruises were quite visible on the boys and they knew they would have some explaining to do. Once Ash had recovered his breath, he crawled over to Clair and spoke to her. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that!" Clair screamed, tears coming to her eyes. "How could you do something so stupid, Ash!?"

"Well I couldn't just let them hurt you." He said with a grin. Ash then pulled himself up with a nearby boulder of ice. Without any warning, he proceeded to pick Clair up and held her in his arms, as if she were a princess.

"Ash! Put me down! You can't carry me when you're like this!" She yelled. Ash however, decided to ignore her and began to take one unsteady step after the next. Clair continued to protest but Ash would have none of it and continued the journey, refusing to surrender to the immense pain that was coursing through his body.

They arrived at her home a short while later and Ash pushed the door open without knocking. He took a single step into the room before he put Clair down and collapsed to the floor unconscious. "Ash!" She screamed.

Her grandmother and elder brother came through from another room a moment later, drawn by her scream. The second they saw Ash, they stepped into action. "Lance, carry Ash to the spare bed. I will be up to find out his condition once I have everything I may need to treat him." The elderly woman ran around the house, at a speed unheard of for someone of her age, and gathered all of her medical equipment together. The young man, that was Clair's elder brother, scooped the unconscious boy up and carried him upstairs with the girl following right behind, tears in her eyes.

Her grandmother soon arrived in the room the two had taken Ash to and set to work examining him. "Hmm… He's not in a good way. I can treat him but he's still not in a good way. What happened to him Clair?"

"Some of the other boys… started kicking me and punching me… They said that I shouldn't think… think that I was better than them…" She managed to force out between the sobs that were now racking her body. "They said that I… I shouldn't think I'm better… just because of my family… Ash tried to stop them and then… and then they did this to him."

Lance stood up, shaking with rage, and walked towards the door. "Stop Lance." His grandmother commanded. "I know what you want to do, but violence isn't the answer. You're eighteen now so you should know that. I need you to go and get Delia; she needs to know what has happened."

Lance sighed and took a deep breath. "Yes Grandma Blackthorn." He then left the room to get on with his task.

"Will Ash be okay, Grandma?" Clair sobbed.

"He'll be fine once I finish treating him and he gets enough rest. Here, why don't you help me by holding this in place?" Clair nodded as determination took over her features and she began to help her grandmother treat the boy. At the elderly woman's request she gave some more detail of the encounter so that it could be dealt with appropriately.

Lance returned with Delia ten minutes later and she gasped as she saw the state Ash was in. "What happened?"

"It seems that your son defended Clair from a group of bullies in the ice path. In doing so he was injured though and, even then, he insisted on carrying Clair back here." Grandma Blackthorn explained.

"I'm sorry Mrs Blackthorn! It's all my fault!" Clair wailed as she broke down into tears once again. She was surprised when she felt Delia pull her into a hug and rub her back soothingly.

"Shh… You've done nothing wrong, dear. The only ones at fault here are the bullies and I'll be sure to get them punished." Everybody in the room shivered. Though the Blackthorn family was renowned for its fearlessness, the ability that made them so good at training dragon-types, there was one thing they all feared. That one thing was the wrath of Delia Blackthorn when her son was put in danger or harmed. Even the Dragonite around the village were terrified of what would happen should they harm him.

"Come now, Delia. Let's not be too hasty." Grandma Blackthorn said, trying to calm the young woman down. Just then there was a knock on the door. "Clair, would you be a dear and get that?"

"Okay Grandma." The girl mumbled before she trudged downstairs to answer it.

"Delia, about the condition of your son. Other than the visible bruising, he has a broken rib and a couple of fractures in the bones of his arms. I'm afraid he's going to have to stay here for a week or so while I treat him and even after that he'll have to rest."

Delia sighed heavily. "I don't care; just so long as you can help him recover, I don't care."

Downstairs, Clair opened the door to find the mothers of the three boys that had bullied her earlier that day. She glared at them but they didn't notice. "Hello Clair, is Ash here? We need to have a word with him and he wasn't at home."

"Yeah, he is, but why do you care?" Clair growled viciously. The women took a step back, surprised to find that they they felt almost as intimidated by her as they did by an angry Delia, and she wasn't even a third of Delia's age. One of them managed to compose herself though and spoke for the three of them.

"Don't talk to us like that, young lady. He's injured all of our boys and needs to be punished."

"Injured them!?" Clair shouted, movement could be heard upstairs as the others heard her shout and came to investigate. "Ash only tried to protect me! He's much more hurt than any of them! Don't you dare to come here acting like you know what happened when you don't know anything!"

Just then the others arrived and the women took several steps back as they saw Delia's face, darkened with rage. "So it was their sons that put Ash in that state was it, Clair? Then I think we need to talk about how your sons are going to be punished."

"Wh-what are you t-talking about?" One of them stuttered.

"My son is upstairs with his entire upper body covered in bruises, a broken rib and fractured arm bones." The women gulped as they realised just what exactly had happened. "Care to guess who put him in that state? I think you'll all agree that the punishment for those people should be severe as you're here to ask for punishment over a few bruises."

"Umm… Yes?" One of the mothers mumbled meekly.

"That's right, I think a week alone in the ice path should be enough. What do you say?"

Just then the small, raven haired, form of Ash came stumbling down the stairs. "Clair!? Where's Clair? Is she alright?" Was all he managed to say before he collapsed to the floor again.

"Ash!" Clair screamed, running over to the boy and turning his unconscious body over to face her. "Grandma, he's bleeding again!"

The woman took a quick look. "Hmm… It looks like his broken rib may have punctured the skin. Lance, take him upstairs again. You know how to treat this don't you?"

"Yes ma'am." He answered before carrying the boy upstairs with Clair trailing behind him once again.

She turned to face the other women and only Delia was not in a state of shock. "You see now, the full extent of what your sons did to Ash? Not only that but had he not arrived when he did, it seems that your sons may have raped my granddaughter. That calls for even greater punishment I believe, even if they didn't know what they were doing."

"Y-yes, you're right."

"Very well. Return this evening with your sons and we shall discuss the severity of their punishments. For now I must tend to Ash, though my grandson has some skill at treating injured people he isn't as good as I am. Goodbye." The elderly woman closed the door in the faces of the three mothers and went upstairs with Delia. "I have to thank you Delia. If you hadn't raised such a caring young boy then I worry about what would have happened to Clair today."

Delia smiled at the praise for her son. "Not at all ma'am. I never raised him to act like that; it was completely his own personality. Although, I am certainly glad that he has grown to be as caring as he is. I just hope this doesn't change it."

"I hope so too."

* * *

Three years later, Ash and Clair were running around in the boy's garden, playing games. Both had grown considerably in the time since the incident in the ice path and they were even closer now than they had been then. The entire town knew that, if one was around, the other was likely close by and many wondered just how close they would become in the years to follow.

Their games were interrupted as an elderly man with a bushy white beard came around the corner of the house to speak with them. "Ash, Clair, could you come over here please?"

"Yes Chief Blackthorn!" They cried in unison, giggling at that fact. They darted over to the man and stood before him, smartening themselves up slightly.

The elderly man chuckled. "Well, the time has come for each of you to find your starter Pokémon. As you know, each child is given a Pokémon on the first of April after they reach the age of ten. This is done so that you may bond with it in preparation for the day when you are given your trainers license at age sixteen. Clair, you asked to have your choosing delayed by a year so that you could choose at the same time as Ash. We consented due to the depth of the bond between you two and the fact that it saves visiting twice for one person each time. Today however, you will both come with me and find the Pokémon that will be your starter. Now, follow me to the Dragon's Den."

"Yes sir!" They cried, earning another chuckle from the man as they pretended to salute him. He led them through the village where many of the other locals wished them good luck. Soon, they crossed the small lake at the northern end of the village on the Chief's Gyarados and met the other elders.

"Good morning children." The elderly men and women greeted.

"Good morning." The children said shyly, never having come before so many of the important members of the village at once.

"Well then, now that everybody is here, I believe we should make our way inside. Follow me." The chief said. He then led everyone into the cave in front of them, the two children right behind him. As they walked, they saw several mature dragon-types that had evolved past their basic forms. "We will soon come to the entrance to the birthing chamber. In that room are all the eggs and recently hatched Pokémon that are dragon-types or will evolve into dragon-types. There are even a few that have no relation to any dragon-types but still have draconic tendencies in their current or evolved forms, Magikarp for example. When you enter this room you will wait for ten minutes. If no Pokémon chooses you before that time is up then you will have to try again next year. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." The two children replied before several of the elders opened the door in front of them to let them through. Once they were inside, the doors were closed and the adults motioned for the children to move forwards to the edge of the pool. They did so and were quickly surrounded by Pokémon. They played with the Pokémon and chatted happily with them. Within five minutes, a Horsea had jumped into Clair's lap and Ash cheered happily for her. However, time continued to pass but no Pokémon made a move to join Ash. Just as Ash was beginning to give up hope he heard a voice.

"_Ash!"_ It cried. He looked around wildly, searching for the source of the voice. Everyone else watched him in confusion.

"What's the matter Ash?" The chief asked.

"_Ash!"_ The voice cried again, more enthusiastically this time.

"Can't you hear it? There's a voice calling my name."

"What voice, there isn't any voice. It seems the poor boy has given up hope." One of the elders said.

"Not necessarily." The chief corrected. "There have been cases of telepathic dragon-types. Perhaps a dragon-type is calling Ash to claim it as opposed to the other way round."

"The voice seems really powerful and older than any of the Pokémon in here should be too." Ash said somewhat dejectedly.

"_Ash!"_ The voice cried again. Ash's head snapped round and looked directly at a sand coloured egg. He began to approach it as he realised that it was the source of the voice.

The elders began to whisper amongst themselves and the chief mumbled something to them all. "It looks like I may have been right. His description of the voice being older than it should be would match that egg; it's been here for ten years. In fact, it may even have been laid on the same day that Ash was born now that I think about it."

"This does seem to be a rather large coincidence." One of the others analysed. "Perhaps it really is calling him."

At that moment, Ash reached the egg and rested his hand on its rough, sandpaper-like surface. The moment he touched it, the egg began to glow and cracks formed in the shell as it broke apart to reveal the Pokémon it held. The elders all gasped as they saw the glow die down to reveal a black Trapinch, so dark that it made you feel as if you were being pulled into a black hole.

They all began to whisper to each other about the consequences of the event as Ash happily began to play with the Pokémon. The one thing everybody but Ash failed to notice was that the belly of said Pokémon was as white as freshly fallen snow, but Ash didn't care as he was too happy that he finally had a Pokémon.

The chief finally decided to speak up, however his emotionless tone was not what had been expected. "I'm sorry Ash, but you will have to leave that Pokémon behind. Once we leave this cave you are to go straight home and from there, leave this village."

"What!?" Clair yelled angrily. "Why does Ash have to leave!? He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"It isn't what he has done Clair. Black dragon-types are heralds of chaos and the trainers they choose are the ones who bring that chaos. For that reason, anyone chosen by a black dragon-type must leave the village."

"That's stupid!" Clair yelled. She was stopped from saying any more by a slap from the chief.

"Stupid girl!" He roared in an uncharacteristically harsh tone. "Never disrespect our traditions. The only reason our village and family has survived this long is that we continued to follow our traditions. If we do not continue to follow them then there is no doubt that we will die out." He then picked up Ash and dragged him out of the cave, kicking and screaming, because the boy hadn't listened to a word he said.

Once they were all back across the lake, Ash was thrown to the floor. "Leave this village, boy! You are no longer welcome here!" The chief cried, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. This included Ash's mother.

"What do you mean he isn't welcome here anymore?" She asked sharply. The chief flinched but held his ground.

"Your son has been chosen by a black dragon-type, if he remains here then he will only bring chaos to our village." With that said, the old man turned and began to walk away. Just then, a stone was thrown from the crowds and struck Ash on the face. It drew blood and everybody present whirled around to face the culprit.

"Get lost!" A boy yelled, Ash recognised him as the ringleader of the bullies he had stopped years ago. They had always held a grudge for the half-month that they had been left to fend for themselves in the Ice Path and were now taking their chance to act upon it.

"Yeah! We don't need anyone bringing trouble here!" Another of the three yelled as he too hurled a stone. This one was stopped though, it seemed that Clair had knocked it aside for she now stood in front of Ash protectively and glared ferociously at all those who were murmuring their agreement.

She decided to take an action that might be the only way to help him. She turned around and looked him dead in the eye, speaking loudly so that everyone could hear her. "Ash, I should have told you this a long time ago, but I was too scared to. I love you, Ash." She then placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Everyone in the crowd froze as they watched the scene; they began to doubt themselves as they remembered how little trouble the boy had ever caused. Their convictions were reborn, however, when a man charged from their ranks with a broom held high over his head. He swung it down at Ash and only missed because Delia pulled him back, out of Clair's grip. The rest of the crowds began to chase after the boy and his mother as his eyes remained locked with Clair's. She could clearly see every emotion in their great depths. Sorrow, pain and confusion. But most of all, fear. Fear - not for himself - for her. And in that moment, she fell even further in love with him as he worried for her, despite the mob chasing him.

As Ash and his mother reached the edge of town, there was an explosion in the distance. A column of smoke began to form in the air above their old house. It seemed that the Blackthorn family wanted to get rid of every last trace of them in the village. Delia looked to her now-crying son and spoke. "Ash, honey, we're going to have to change our names after this. From now on our last name will be Ketchum instead of Blackthorn, okay?"

Ash responded with a nod, too sad to even process what she was actually saying.

Back in the village, Clair, Lance, their Grandmother and Grandfather, also known as Chief Blackthorn, were in their house. "Clair, Lance, you have to try to understand that nothing good can come of his remaining here." The old man said.

"So you keep saying, Grandfather. Yet Ash has never done anything wrong without very good reason, has shown greater courage than most in the village, protected your granddaughter – my sister – and helped you personally on a couple of occasions. There is no reason to believe that he would bring any chaos other than the words of some ancient historian who died hundreds of years ago. Why do we believe the words of some ancient book, which might be wrong or we may have mistranslated, above our own logic? You are too locked in the past, Old Man." Lance said with seriousness and conviction clear in his tone.

"Please Grandpa!" Clair beseeched him. "Please let Ash come back! I don't even want to live here if Ash isn't here!"

"Don't try and judge me Lance, I have far more life experience than you. Clair, he cannot come back and I won't have any of this nonsense about not wanting to live here without Ash. There is far more here than he can ever offer you."

"Dear, I don't like to say this but I think you might be wrong on both those points. Sometimes the emotions and inexperience of the young are the most valuable things in the world. You should try to remember how you were at their age. As for what he can offer, I think he can offer her more than the village. All of the other young ones stay away from Clair because of the age difference or her position, Ash cared about neither of those things. It was quite clear to me for a long time that he also loved our Clair a great deal, perhaps even more than she loves him." Clair gasped at her grandmother's statement; she had never thought for a moment that Ash might return her feelings.

"She means the world to him and he's probably done a better job of looking after her than we have over the years. He's always there when she needs someone to talk to, always there when she needs protecting or helping out of a tight spot, always there to offer her a place to stay when she needs it and always there to simply be her friend. He devoted himself to her wellbeing while we spent most of our time devoted to the wellbeing of the village. I honestly don't think we can say the village has more to offer her than he does."

"She still has a life here though!" The chief roared, angered by his wife's 'betrayal'. "With him she has no future; here she will become the next leader of the clan as Lance has his other responsibilities. I have made my decision and it is final. Also, if you should try to make any contact with him you will be severely punished."

"I hate you!" Clair screamed before running out of the room.

"Well, you certainly could have handled that a lot better Grandpa. I have to be going now; I have some training to do. I challenge the elite four for the first time in a couple of months and I have to be ready, even if I probably won't defeat them all this time around." Lance finished coldly.

* * *

Two months later, Ash and Delia were moving into their new home. It was a small, but comfortable, house in 'Pallet Town'. They had discovered the location by chance when they were looking for a new home in the estate agents of Goldenrod City, a long way from the property and town. It was a quaint little town and the only notable building was the laboratory of Professor Oak, a world renowned researcher.

Just as the Machoke and Machamp finished moving all of their new belongings into the house, a man with greying hair pulled up on a bike. He was wearing brown trousers and a red shirt, over the top of the red shirt was a white lab coat. "Good afternoon. I'm Professor Oak; I run the lab in town. I saw you moving in and thought I'd come and say hello."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name's Delia and this is my son Ash." Delia said brightly.

"Hello sir." Ash added.

"It's nice to meet you young man, but please feel free to call me Professor. Sir is a bit too formal I think. How old might you be though?"

"I'm eleven now." Ash said cheerfully.

"Eleven eh? A fine age to be. Though I must admit, I'm slightly surprised that I can't see a Pokémon running around the house." Ash's face fell and the Professor immediately realised he had said something wrong.

"Ash, dear, why don't you go and unpack your things?" Delia suggested softly. Ash smiled again at the thought of getting all his new belongings out to look at and he dashed off to find them. Delia giggled as she watched him go.

"I'm terribly sorry for that. I had no idea it was such a touchy subject." The Professor said with his shame clear.

"Oh, that's alright, it isn't your fault."

"Would I be overstepping my bounds to inquire as to what happened?"

"Not at all, I'm sure there will be plenty of people asking and it's best that Ash isn't reminded of it for now. You see, I'm actually a member of the Blackthorn family. Ash was taken to receive his starter Pokémon on the usual date, a couple of months ago, along with his friend Clair. Do you know how the Blackthorn's usually choose a starter?"

"Why yes, I briefly investigated it in the past for some of my research. The child sits and waits for a Pokémon to choose them in the birthing chamber of the Dragon's Den. Don't tell me none of the Pokémon chose him."

"No, if that were the case we would have simply waited another year and tried again. Do you know any of the legends and myths associated with the Blackthorns?"

"Yes, I believe all of them were explained to me while I was there."

"Then perhaps this will explain things to you, he was chosen by a black Trapinch."

"Oh, dear. I can see why that would upset him."

Delia shook her head. "No, that wasn't what upset him, he didn't care about that. What upset him was that he was taken from the Pokémon by force and then we were run out of town by the other locals. They set our house on fire before we had even left the area and he had to leave behind the closest friend he has ever made, possibly the girl he loves, as well as his first Pokémon."

"That's terrible!" Oak exclaimed before he gained a thoughtful expression. "Tell me, does Ash only like dragon-type Pokémon? I know that many members of the Blackthorn family feel that way."

"No, Ash loves all Pokémon. He just has a special place in his heart for dragon-types. But might I ask why that matters?"

"Well, I give out starter Pokémon to all the local trainers you see. In the last batch that I received there was one extra Pokémon and one of them was a shiny Pokémon. Because of that, I decided not to give it to a rookie trainer but I can't stand to see such a seemingly wonderful boy get so down because he has no Pokémon. Would you like to come by the lab with him later, shall we say five o' clock, and pick it up?"

"You'd really do that for him? And if so, what Pokémon is it?"

"Of course I would, I have a grandson about the same age as Ash and I couldn't stand to see him in such a state. It is quite the same with other children about the same age; they should all be running around and playing happily. As for what the Pokémon is, it is a shiny Charmander."

Delia squealed in delight. "Ash will adore it then. The Charizard they evolve into are so similar to dragon-types that the difference would barely matter to him."

"Well that's good to hear. Bring him by later and we'll sort it all out."

"Thank you very much Professor. I'll see you later." Delia confirmed cheerfully before she went inside to begin unpacking her own belongings.

* * *

Ash and Delia had just finished a tour around the grounds of Professor Oak's laboratory and were now sat inside having a cup of tea. "So what did you think, young man?" Oak asked Ash.

"It was awesome! I've never seen so many Pokémon in one place! You must know loads about Pokémon if so many live here." Ash exclaimed excitedly.

"Well I do know quite a bit, perhaps I should teach you some of it for when you become a trainer." Ash's face fell again as he remembered that he had no Pokémon. "Don't get too down, young man. Your mother told me about what happened earlier and I have an offer for you." Ash looked up, his eyes sparkling with hope. "I give out starter Pokémon to new trainers in Pallet Town and this year I received an extra Pokémon. As one of them was slightly abnormal I decided not to offer it to the trainers who would get their new Pokémon. However, I can't stand to see a young man, with a bright future ahead of him, get as sad as you are at the moment. Therefore, I am willing to give you this Pokémon should you want it. Would you like it?"

An almost impossibly large grin spread across Ash's face. "Yes please sir! I'd love to have a Pokémon. What type of Pokémon is it?" The Professor handed him a pokéball.

"Why don't you find out?"

Ash threw the pokéball into the air. "Go pokéball!" He cried and as the sphere reached the apex of its journey it opened. A small, bipedal, yellow lizard with a flame at the tip of its tail appeared in front of him. "Awesome! It's a Charmander!" Ash yelled in joy.

He approached the small Pokémon and began cuddling it. The little lizard took to the boy in seconds and they began playing with each other happily. "Ash, dear, do you know what Charmander evolve into?" Delia asked in a seemingly innocent tone.

Ash's eyes widened and he whispered the answer as if he couldn't believe it. "Charizard…"

"That's right young man." The Professor confirmed.

"Awesome! Lance has a Charizard too!" Ash cheered. "That's even cooler than a Charmander!" He then turned serious and looked at Charmander. "But that doesn't mean I want you to evolve just because I'll think you're cooler then, okay Charmander? You evolve when you want to."

Professor Oak was shocked; most children Ash's age were only interested in power so they wanted the Pokémon to evolve as soon as possible. Yet here Ash was, telling his Pokémon not to evolve unless it wanted to. "Well I must say Ash, that's a good way to treat Pokémon. Many people believe that you should have a Pokémon evolve as soon as possible, but to let them evolve when they want to will deepen your bond a great deal."

"Thank you sir, for the compliment and the Pokémon."

"That's quite alright Ash. But, what did I say earlier about calling me sir?"

Ash scratched the back of his head mareepishly. "Sorry Professor. I was taught to always call my elders sir, when they're a man."

"Well it is good manners to do so but I just prefer to be a little less formal with the younger generations myself."

"I'm afraid we'd better be going now, Professor Oak, but why don't you come over to our house for dinner in an hour or so? It would be nice to have a guest." Delia offered cheerfully.

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid I have to get home and look after my grandchildren."

"Well, why don't you bring them too? The more the merrier I say, isn't that right Ash?"

"Yeah!" Ash cheered, barely aware of the conversation as he played with his new Charmander.

"Oh alright then, I'll see you in an hour." The Professor said, admitting defeat. With that, Ash and Delia left with the young Charmander following at Ash's heel as they chatted amicably.

* * *

**Ash's Pokémon:**

**Trapinch(M)(Seperated), ****Charmander(M)**

**Clair's Pokémon:**

**Horsea(F)**

* * *

**And that's that folks.**

**Okay, so the serious stuff first. On the matter of the events of the first section, I do not and will not regret my usage of this however I do understand that some people may have concerns about it. I understand that such things are not to be joked about, especially as I recently discovered that a member of my extended family was abused by a neighbour when he was a young teenager. It has ruined his life so far and affected the life of his son as well due to the ways in which he has attempted to deal with it. I do not claim to understand the pain anyone who has gone through such an event may feel as I am sure that it is not something one can simply imagine so I will not insult them/you by pretending that I do, however that does not prevent it being a valid and often effective (whether or not you believe that to be true for this story is up to you) plot device. I do not use it lightly and doubt I will use it again, and if I do it will not be without reason with regards to a plot. If I have insulted you or brought you suffering then I apologise with the utmost sincerity as that was not my intent. I would also like to say something, just to be absolutely clear. I, in no way, shape or form, condone the act of rape. It is amongst the most severe crimes and, in my mind, should be punished by the harshest possible sentencing wherever you may be, harsher in some places.**

**And now for the lighter stuff again.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, please leave reviews with your opinions, so long as they aren't just flames. If they are, then I will probably ignore them. 'Constructive criticism' as people always say, if you have a problem with something or wish I had done something wrong or have noticed a recurrent grammar or spelling problem then tell me what it is and how I could have corrected it. Don't just say 'You did this, that and x wrong. This is terrible.' I will happily take advice to heart but if you just rant at me then I'll ignore you, unless your ranting good things. ;P**

**I've put a list of Pokemon at the end of this chapter and will try to include one at the end of each chapter for now. If you are against the idea then let me know. There will probably be two lists soon enough, on hand Pokemon and Pokemon being cared for by Oak, so it's easier for you to know what's happening. I will write them for the list at the end of the chapter and will try to keep the team consistent through to the next chapter, if I make a change then I will try and do it at the beginning of the chapter for continuity purposes but I might change things when there is a larger time gap between sections/chapters.**

**Once again, happy new year!**

**Good morning to you all. (Unless you're in a different time zone or reading this at any time after I publish this in which case it will probably be different.)**


	2. The White Dragon's Charm

**Author's Note  
**

**Hey guys and girls, here's my new chapter for February. Hope you like it.**

**Now to answer some questions...  
There have been a couple of inquiries into whether Ash will have aura or not. Well, if you want to find out then read on. It might happen soon, it might happen in the distant future, it might never happen. ;P**

**Time Skip! If you wanted to know what happened during the time skip then don't worry to much as I will do flashbacks from time to time, to events in his past that become relevant in the future set out before him.**

**Sorry guys but they won't be burning Blackthorn to the ground, though I do have grand plans for their return and you can find out some more about it if you read on in this chapter.**

**Outcast Pokemon eh... That's not too bad of an idea. :D**

**Damian will make an appearance as will an abandoned Pokemon but it isn't going to be a Charmander this time round. But what will it be?**

**Sorry but I like Brock's character too much to not include him as a travelling partner, though I will tone down his flirting. But, I might have more temporary travelling companions than they did in the anime as they can be fun to do and have interesting characters.**

**Celelanthir... Something similar to that might not be a bad idea, though it will have to be somewhat different given how this chapter plays out.**

**And that's all apart from speech types and they're the usual so I can't be bothered to post them this chapter, I'll put them up every few chapters as a refresher but they're listed in the prologue and it shouldn't be that hard to tell anyway so that's that.**

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**Chapter 1 – The White Dragon's Charm**

Ash was now 16 and standing in a room at Professor Oak's lab with two other trainers. One was a teenage boy called Gary Oak, Ash's rival and the grandson of the famous researcher, and the other was a girl of the same age called Leaf Green, a close friend of Ash's. They had both been given starter Pokémon in the same year as Ash, only they had received theirs on the traditional date. It was now that date again six years later and the three were present in order to receive their trainer licenses and start their journeys.

Gary was a boy similar in stature to Ash, if slightly taller. His hair was the brown of mahogany and his eyes a shimmering black. He wore a simple purple shirt, denim jeans, brown hiking boots and little otherwise, bar the small pendant that always seemed to adorn his neck. Ash had no idea of its origins for it had been there even when they first met, but he knew one thing and that was that it was precious to his rival.

Leaf on the other hand, was equal in height to Ash but less heavily built, for in the last six years he had worked hard to become a strong individual and it showed. She wore a simple blue shirt and a red skirt that barely covered half of her thighs. Her shoes were simple and her blue socks reached almost to her knees. Ash had often thought that she should switch the lengths of her socks and her skirt but when he brought it up she tended to ignore him so he had given up quickly. Atop her long, brown locks sat a white hat with a small red semi-circular design that ended above each of her sea blue eyes.

"Well then, you three, it is finally time for you to set out into the wide world of Pokémon. There are a great number of Pokémon out there and as such you should carry this device, a pokédex, with you at all times." Professor Oak began as he walked into the room.

"The pokédex will recognise the different Pokémon you meet and can offer you information on them that may help you in battle. You can also use it to scan your Pokémon in order to find out what moves they currently know and what moves they might be able to learn. As you will be travelling in the Kanto region I have only loaded the information for Pokémon native to this region onto it. Should you travel to any of the other regions then please come and see me so I can update it with the relevant information. Finally, do not lose this as it will act as your trainer ID. You will need it to enter any sort of major event, such as a league, and I don't give out new ones easily. Here's one for each of you." That being said, the elderly man gave each of them a small, rectangular object. Ash's was a deep and fiery crimson, Leaf's a verdant green and Gary's an oceanic blue.

"And here are five pokéballs for each of you. You should be able to purchase more of them and other supplies in shops you'll find in most towns, they're quite common."

"Thank you Professor." Ash said as he took his five pokéballs and put them in his pockets. Though, he didn't really need them as he had purchased a great deal of equipment over the last few years while he studied to become the best he could as a trainer.

As Leaf accepted her pokéballs she had an idea. "Hey Ash, why don't we travel together?" She suggested.

"Aww… Does little Leaf want to travel with her crush?" Gary teased.

"Oh, shut up Gary. You're just jealous because I like Ash while girls avoid you like the plague. Apart from your cheerleaders I suppose, but that's only because you pay them, and none of them would actually go out with you." Leaf countered angrily. Gary went bright red in the face before he stormed out of the building, leaving the other two behind. "So what do you say Ash?"

"It is quite a good idea to travel with someone else. Many people stop travelling simply because they can't stand the constant lack of company." Oak added.

"I understand but I'm sorry, there's only one person I would really want to travel with and that isn't going to happen. Sorry to disappoint you Leaf." Ash said sadly.

Leaf was all but ready to slap him. "Damn it Ash! Is this that girl that none of us have ever even met again!?" She yelled. "Every time I ask you out you apologise because there's only 'one girl' that you would go out with and yet nobody in the village has ever met her! If you don't like me then just come out and say it!"

"It's not that I don't like you Leaf, you're the best friend I've had since I've moved here but I just can't love you when I still think about her."

"Then forget about her! You keep saying it's never going to happen anyway so just leave her in the past!"

"It's not that simple."

"Of course it is!"

"Could you?"

"Huh?"

Ash sighed. "If someone told you to forget about me, after you realised it would never happen between us, would you really be able to do it so easily?"

Leaf froze as she realised what he meant. "N-no. I'm sorry Ash; I shouldn't have been so insensitive." She mumbled as she looked at the floor, ashamed of her outburst.

"That's okay, we all make mistakes. Why don't you get going now, I'm sure we'll meet again and my mom wanted to see me again before I leave anyway so I have to head home for now." Ash said as gave her a quick but comforting hug.

"Alright…" Leaf mumbled dejectedly. She knew that there was no point pushing the subject further as Ash was obviously resolute about this. As she left, Oak spoke to Ash.

"I feel for you young man. I can't imagine it's easy to have to repeatedly tell a girl that you don't love them when she's clearly infatuated with you. But, may I ask if you have ever actually tried to forget Clair?"

"You remember that time when I nearly had a mental breakdown? That was the last and only time I tried to forget her."

"Oh my… To think that she has such an effect on you at such a young age is almost unbelievable. Speaking of unbelievable, I nearly forgot that there was something I needed you for. Your skills at understanding and calming Pokémon are incredible and I recently came into possession of a slightly problematic Pokémon, could you try your hand at calming it?"

"Sure Professor, where is it?"

"One moment and I'll bring it through Ash." Oak disappeared into another room for a moment before returning with a pokéball in his hands. He stopped in front of Ash and opened the pokéball to let out the Pokémon inside. The Pokémon that materialised before the pair was a small, yellow, mouse-like Pokémon.

"Ah, a Pikachu. I know just how to start then." Ash reached out for the Pokémon slowly so as not to startle it. He saw it flinch back as his hands approached and received an electric shock the moment he touched it. To the Pokémon researcher's surprise, the shock died down almost as suddenly as it started.

When the light had died down he could see Ash massaging Pikachu's cheeks like a professional. Pikachu relaxed into the boy's hands as it let out a "Chaaaa…" of content. Oak smiled at the sight, Ash never ceased to amaze him.

"Well it looks like you've done it again Ash, how did you know what to do though?"

"Well, I saw a top breeder giving an internet lecture about caring for electric-type Pokémon. Those with 'electric sacks' tend to enjoy having the sacks massaged, and it's good for their health too. The pleasure and relaxation factors tend to remove any hostility such a Pokémon feels towards you and that in turn makes it more willing to explain things to you."

"Interesting… Well, now that I know you can handle it; would you like to take it, Ash? I know you'll look after it well and will be able to figure out its needs better than most trainers would."

"Sure I will Professor, so long as you don't mind."

"Of course I don't Ash, here's the pokéball." The moment Pikachu saw the pokéball in Ash's hand it flinched away from him again.

"Oh, I think I see Pikachu's real problem now. He's scared of the pokéball, is that right Pikachu?" Ash said kindly. Pikachu nodded as he kept a close eye on the pokéball. "In that case we won't need this; you can stay outside if you want." With that said, Ash clipped the pokéball onto his belt beside Charmander's. Once Pikachu saw that action and heard Ash's words it scaled his body and rubbed its cheek against Ash's from a perch on the boy's shoulder.

"Dear Arceus, Ash. I've never got the slightest positive reaction from that Pikachu but you've become great friends with it in less than five minutes."

"Hehehe… I guess I just have a way with Pokémon. I can understand them somehow too, as you know, so I bet that helps."

"_You can understand me?"_ Pikachu inquired, though to Oak it was nothing but Pikachu saying its name.

"Yep, but I don't know how. I think my mom mentioned something about aura, whatever that is. I never really looked into it; I just find it really cool to talk to Pokémon."

"_Aura? If you do have aura then you should definitely get it trained, an aura guardian is a force to be reckoned with. Oh, an aura guardian is the name for someone who uses aura, by the way."_

"Wow, that sounds interesting. I guess I should try and get it trained if I can find someone who can do so. But, until then I'll just leave it as it is."

"_Sounds like a plan to me! So what do we do now?"_

"Well Pikachu, now we go on a journey so we can get lots of new friends and then we train to become as strong as we can."

"Ash, I think you had best get on your way now. Your mother will be wondering where you are." Oak suggested, taking advantage of a gap in the conversation between Pokémon and trainer.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks again Professor, I'll be sure to give you a call soon." The two humans and one Pokémon walked to the door and opened it. Just as Oak was about to say goodbye to Ash, he was interrupted by a strong gust of air and something flew by in a flash of yellowy-brown. "What on earth was that!?" He exclaimed.

Just then there was a loud thump to their right and they looked over to see a Dragonite had just landed there. Ash tensed as he knew what the presence of a Dragonite might mean, Blackthorns. He was frozen in place though when he saw one of the three Blackthorns he could never bring himself to dislike. "Sorry about that Professor Oak. I didn't expect Dragonite to take me quite so literally when I said to land 'close to the door'." Said a twenty-seven year old man with red hair. His cape billowed behind him and, despite the fact that it really shouldn't, it somehow matched his suit.

"Th-that's quite alright. To what do I owe the pleasure?" The researcher stuttered as he recovered from his shock.

"L-Lance?" Ash stuttered in a whisper.

"Yes Ash, it's me. Though I'm not alone." Ash couldn't ask what he meant by that as he was tackled to the floor by a bundle of blue. Before he could realise what had happened he was pulled into a crushing hug, so strong that an Ursaring would be proud of it.

"C-Clair? Is that really you?" Ash managed to force out, barely able to breathe.

"Yes!" The bundle of blue squealed. "I'm so glad you recognised me!"

Ash finally began to hug back as he buried his head in the girl's shoulder, tears in his eyes. "Well I didn't really recognise you because I didn't get a chance to see you. I was just sure it was you for some reason. I'm so happy to see you again."

Unfortunately, Leaf chose that moment to walk back past the lab and saw the two hugging on the floor. "What do you think you're doing to my Ash!?" She yelled as loudly as she could.

Clair pulled back with a hurt look on her face, her deep blue eyes sparkling with tears. "What does she mean 'my Ash'?" She questioned, directing it at Ash.

The boy sighed. "Leaf likes me but I've turned her down several times and she gets jealous quite easily. Leaf, this is Clair. She's a very old friend of mine that I hold very dear and I would advise you not to try anything with her."

The blue haired girl let out a sigh of relief as she attempted to return to hugging Ash. "That's good." She mumbled. However, she grew angry when he stopped her from hugging him again. "Why won't you let me hug you?" She growled. Leaf had a smug look on her face but it wouldn't last long.

"Because there is something I need to tell you first, something I should have told you six years ago when you told me the same. Clair Blackthorn, I love you." The girl in his arms fainted on the spot and fell onto his body. At the bottom of the stairs up to Oak's lab, Leaf had frozen with a pained expression.

Lance began a slow, sarcastic clap. "Nice one Ash. Couldn't have done it better myself."

"Can it, Lance." Ash joked; he couldn't help but find the situation slightly amusing himself though. "I think we should probably take Clair back to my house for now though so she can rest on something appropriate.

"A good point, though does that mean she's resting on something inappropriate?" Lance teased before turning to the Professor and adopting a serious tone. "Professor Oak, might I ask that you join us shortly with the facilities to update Ash's trainer information and pokédex?"

"Yes, of course. I'll be there shortly." It was only then that Leaf recognised the other visitor and ran off screaming, believing that she had made a complete fool of herself in front of her idol. At that same moment another Pokémon made itself known by jumping off of Dragonite and running over to Ash to nuzzle his leg.

"Trapinch?" Ash questioned, recognising the small black form.

"Yes, I'll explain back at your house. Dragonite, return for now." The well-known but very rare Pokémon returned to its pokéball as Ash picked Clair up in his arms and brushed a lock of hair off of her face. He smiled down at her calm face until Lance spoke up again. "Come on lover boy. I can't go anywhere unless you show me the way."

Ash growled but consented and started the short walk back to his house. They arrived several minutes later and Ash opened the door carefully, so as not to disturb Clair who had not yet returned to consciousness. "Mom, I'm home. And I've got some visitors with me too."

"Oh, who is it dear?"

Ash gulped as he wasn't sure how his mother would react to the presence of these two. "It's… Lance and Clair."

"What!?" She screeched, running into the hallway to see for herself. Lance braced himself, expecting an angry tirade from the once most feared woman in Blackthorn City. So he was surprised when he instead received a hug. "It's so good to see you two again but what on earth happened to Clair?"

"Oh, that was Ash." Lance said.

"Ash Ketchum, what did you do that girl!? Tell me this instant!" She roared, only then did Lance realise the implications of his statement.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that Delia. Ash confessed to her and she was so shocked that she fainted." He explained.

Delia gasped. "My little Ash finally confessed to someone!" She squealed gleefully. "I was beginning to think I wouldn't have grandchildren before my forties."

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself there, Delia. Those two won't even be twenty by the time you're forty and I doubt they'll want to have kids that soon."

"Enough of this." Ash interjected exasperatedly. "Clair needs to lay down on something so I'm going to take her upstairs and put her on my bed until she wakes up."

"See Lance." Delia teased. "He only confessed to her earlier and he's already taking her into his room."

Lance just shook his head before following after the two teens. A few minutes later, Clair finally woke up and the first thing she saw was her brother. "So it was just a dream, and here I was thinking Ash had confessed to me." Were the first words out of her mouth.

Lance chuckled. "He did, you're in his room right now. In his bed in fact." He couldn't resist the chance to tease his little sister.

"What!?" She shrieked. Just then, Ash opened the door and came into the room.

"It's good to see you're awake, Clair. I brought you a glass of water; I thought you might want it when you woke up."

"Wh-what am I doing in your b-bed?" She stuttered.

Ash gave her a quizzical look before realising what must have happened. "Lance, that's a cruel joke to play. Clair, you're in my bed because you fainted when I told you that I love you. We wanted to move you so that you weren't resting on me or the floor." Clair let out a breath in relief.

"Thank you for telling me that." Clair said, giving him a radiant smile, before she turned to her brother and gave him a murderous glare.

"Umm… I'll be going downstairs to talk to Delia then. You two join us when you're ready." The doorbell rang at that moment. "Sounds like Professor Oak is here too so I should help him out." Lance mumbled before darting out the door.

"So…" Clair said, drawing out the 'o'. "Did you really say you love me a minute ago, and before that too?"

"Yes, and I stand by it." A smile lit up the girls face again. "By the way, I like what you did with your hair." Said hair was as long as ever but it had now been drawn back into a ponytail, a spike of hair hung on either side of her head and another in the centre of her forehead.

Clair blushed. "Th-thank you, I hoped you would. I guess I should be clear about this as well. Ash, I do still love you."

"Then shall we make it official?" He asked.

"I think we should talk to the others first. There are some things you deserve to know first."

"There's nothing that will change my mind, but okay. I'll go along with it as long as you're happy." Clair hugged the boy tightly once more as she stood up. He then led her down to the living room where everyone else was gathered.

"Now that you two are here we can get on with this. Professor Oak, I would like to deal with the things I asked you to come here for first."

"Of course, what would you like me to do?"

"Well, it's quite clear that Trapinch wants to become Ash's Pokémon as it should have done six years ago. Therefore I think that Ash will need pokédex data from Hoenn at least. Personally I would suggest giving him full national pokédex data as I suspect Ash will need it all in the future anyway."

"That makes sense and I had considered it before so that I don't have to update his pokédex every year or so, I can't see him being happy after travelling through only Kanto. Ash, hand me your pokédex and I'll update the data now." Ash handed the man the item without hesitation and it was inserted into a small laptop. The data exchange was finished within a minute and he got the item back straight away. "Well that's that. Anything else?"

"Well, it depends. Ash, is that Pikachu beside you your starter?" Pikachu had indeed climbed onto the arm of the sofa that Ash was on. Ash looked at the small Pokémon and smiled before answering. Trapinch had also worked his way into Ash's lap for the time being and was curled up there as Ash absent-mindedly petted the two of them.

"No, this is my starter. I choose you Charmander!" He pulled out the pokéball and opened it so that the lizard appeared on the floor in front of him.

"Hmm… A shiny Charmander was your starter, I'm sure you can't wait for it to fully evolve." Lance observed.

"I don't really care. Sure it would be nice to have a dragon-like Pokémon but Trapinch's evolutions are dragon-types and I like all types of Pokémon so I don't want him to evolve unless he feels ready."

Lance smiled. "Good answer. That brings me to the other thing though. All three of these Pokémon seem to have very deep bonds with you and will likely not want to leave your side. For that reason, I suggest we give Ash a carry limit increase. I will happily give my approval and if you approve as well, Professor Oak, then we can give him a twelve Pokémon limit. That should make it easier for him to rotate and train his Pokémon other than those three."

"I can see where you are coming from Lance and I'm happy to give my approval. Ash has proven himself several times over in the last few years. Why don't we fill in the forms back at my lab when we're done here?"

"That's fine with me. That means there is only one more task on my agenda." He turned to look at Ash, his face now a mask of seriousness. "Ash, the main reason I came here today is nothing to do with what has happened so far. It is, in fact, because I want to protect Clair."

"Protect her?" Ash inquired.

"That's right. Grandpa is planning to have Clair get engaged to some very distantly related member of the family with a lot of influence outside of Blackthorn City. The guy is rich and so he has power, Grandpa wants to 'ensure the survival of the family and village' by having Clair, the next leader, marry him." Ash was growling and trembling with rage at these words. His Pokémon took a couple of steps away from him just to be on the safe side. "This guy doesn't care about Clair at all. He just sees her as some 'thing' to work in the kitchen and use in the bedroom. I'm not willing to let a guy like him get his filthy hands on Clair, especially when I know how you feel about each other. So this is my question, do you have any idea of how to protect her?"

Ash's growling continued for a minute before he calmed himself. "As far as I can see, there are two options. The first is that Clair is adopted into another family. She is old enough that she can legally call for a change of family, with only her permission being required to leave the current family, here in Kanto. Unfortunately, I doubt the Blackthorn's would let the adoption take place. They have a lot of power, even here in Kanto, and could probably pay enough people off that the adoption fails. It might still provide us some more time to prepare the second option though as they wouldn't be able to make any move to return her to the village while the application is being rejected."

"What's the second option then?" Lance asked.

"I battle the chief for the right to marry Clair myself." Everyone present gasped at what he was proposing. "Blackthorn tradition dictates that, so long as the woman consents, a man can battle for the right to marry her. Your grandfather is the strongest trainer involved in the process, I assume, so I would no doubt be made to fight him even if I challenged the guy they plan to marry Clair to. The chief also can't refuse a battle challenge according to tradition. So if I challenge him for that right then he has to accept. The adoption process should buy us time until just after the Indigo League next year, once it is finished I ask that you train me and my Pokémon, Lance. With your training on top of what I already have then I believe I could win against the chief. I guess I am assuming that Clair's alright with this plan; please tell me you don't mind, Clair."

"Of course I don't!" She squealed delightedly. "I'd love to marry you!" Before anyone could say anything more, she had dived on top of Ash and gave him a soft and tender kiss that he eagerly returned, six years of pent up emotions being poured into it.

"Aww…." Cooed Delia.

When he realised that the two weren't going to part on their own anytime soon, Lance cleared his throat and spoke. "You two will have enough time for that later. For now, we need to plan." The two teenagers pulled away from each other, embarrassed at their actions. "Well Ash, I will agree to train you after the Indigo League but I think we should do it somewhere out of the reach of the Blackthorns. I suggest the Orange Archipelago, it's isolated and there are many deserted islands that we can go all out on when we train. There's also a minor league there which would serve as a good test of your skills in my opinion. How do you intend to approach the village though? They probably won't let you in with just your current reason."

"That's where being a trainer comes in. We can go around the region, challenging the gyms, and when we reach Blackthorn City they'll have to let me in to challenge the gym. I presume the chief is still the gym leader?"

"He is."

"Good, then as I leave the gym I can challenge him so that everyone can hear. That way he'll have to accept."

"Why not challenge him for the right as part of the gym battle." Clair suggested.

"No can do, little sis. You have to think of Ash's honour." Lance told her.

"What do you mean?"

Lance sighed. "You girls really don't get it, do you? Grandpa can't use his strongest Pokémon in a gym battle because of League rules; he can only use Pokémon up to a certain level of strength. If Ash challenges him about something so important when Grandpa can only use his weaker Pokémon then it would make it seem like Ash is just afraid to face Grandpa's real team and that would weaken our case."

"Oh, I think I get it now."

"Good. In that case, I suggest that you two travel together. I'm sure you'd love each other's company and you do both want to go on a journey of some sort so it makes sense to do so. Once Ash has competed in the Indigo League we can all head out to the Orange Islands together before you two head on to Johto alone again. I would like to continue travelling with you in Johto but I have my responsibilities as Champion, would draw too much attention to you and, as much as I don't believe it, I still can't be seen with a trainer who has a black dragon-type."

"I understand Lance, though I do have to question the fact that my Trapinch is a black dragon-type."

"Umm… Ash, it's pretty obvious. That Trapinch is way too dark to even pass as a shiny Trapinch." Lance said, wondering how Ash could deny it.

"Oh, I don't deny that he is as dark as a void but there is something everyone seems to have missed." He lifted Trapinch up so that everyone could see its belly. "The black dragon-types are completely black but my Trapinch is white as well."

"And that's not just any white." The Professor observed. "That's the white that is associated with the white dragon-types, the heralds of tranquility as opposed to the heralds of chaos."

"Indeed." Lance added. "But it makes no sense. When did you notice this Ash?"

"When I first met him. I didn't care about it until we were run out of town though and even then I only cared about proving he wasn't one so that nobody would hate him. He didn't do anything wrong but everybody took me, the one trainer he hatched for, away from him. So I did some research."

"What did you find my boy, this is terrifically exciting!?" Oak exclaimed.

Ash chuckled at the man's enthusiasm before replying. "I found reference to it only in a prophecy from before the legends of the black and white dragon-types. The prophecy itself is from the Village of Dragon's in the Unova region but it applies none the less. The prophecy tells that one day chaos and tranquillity would unite and the herald of the new age would be born. Unfortunately, that is all that anyone was able to translate of the prophecy but I think we can tell what the translated section means."

"Yes, it means that your Trapinch is a sign of something big on the horizon, something that neither the black dragon-types nor the white dragon-types could have brought, and something that the two could bring only when they are working together." Lance said mysteriously.

"Incredible…" Oak mumbled.

"Yeah, I don't know anything more about it but I certainly hope I can find out in the future. Is there anything else? Because if there isn't, I'd like to get going now."

"Umm… Ash, you did kind of forget the whole 'who's going to adopt me' bit." Clair pointed out and the boy blushed deeply.

"Oops… I guess I got too caught up in the excitement of seeing you again and starting my journey."

Delia giggled. "That's my Ash. We could try Mrs Green, she's always happy to help someone in need."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea Delia. Leaf looked ready to start a fight when she saw Ash and Clair hugging earlier. How do you think she would take finding out that she has gained an adoptive sister that Ash plans to marry?" Oak argued. "I think we should try to avoid starting a minor war in Pallet, that's why I'm willing to suggest that I adopt her as my granddaughter. It will avoid that situation, Clair seems like a lovely young girl too so I'm sure she wouldn't be any trouble if the process did complete so that she was adopted. Also, I know that Daisy has always wanted a younger sister and she'd probably adore Clair. Besides that, you would probably spend most of your time here, wouldn't you Clair, and Ash is already like a second grandson to me so Clair would probably end up like a granddaughter to me anyway."

"You make some very good points Professor, what do you say Clair?" Lance asked.

"Well, I don't mind being adopted by Professor Oak too much; he seems like a very nice and reliable person. Plus, it isn't like I know anyone else around here apart from Delia and that would ruin things if the paperwork did go through. After all, siblings can't marry, even if they are only adopted and not closely blood related." She told them all.

"Then it's settled, I'll have Dragonite bring you the paperwork to fill in once everything has been filled out by Professor Oak. Well, the one last thing I want to do before I go is give you both a gift. My Dragonite recently produced two eggs and I would like you two to take them, one each." Lance said, producing two blue eggs, with a white dot on the top, from under his cloak. They were in incubators and on top of each incubator was a shrunken pokéball.

"Seriously Lance? Doesn't your Dragonite want to raise her children? And aren't they a bit much to be giving new trainers, even if we are from Blackthorn? Your Dragonite is commonly believed to be one of the strongest there is after all." Ash wondered.

"I'm sure it is the right thing to do Ash. I know that you two will look after them properly and Dragonite agreed with me about giving them to you. Besides, once you get to Johto you'll need all the strong Pokémon you can get to hold the Blackthorns at bay. With a greater number of strong Pokémon early on, you'll be able to train your other Pokémon to be even stronger than they would be otherwise. Now take them so I can get on my way and you two can leave as well."

"Alright then…" Ash said hesitantly. Despite his hesitance, he reached out and took one as Clair took the other. They looked at each other and smiled.

"One step closer to being a dragon-type master." Clair said to him.

"Well then; you know my pokégear number, Clair, so keep in contact. Thank you all for your assistance and your hospitality, Delia. It was good to see you and Ash again but I think it is time the Professor and I left to fill in the paperwork for Ash's carry limit increase." Lance said before glancing at the elderly man.

"Yes, it would be best to resolve that situation as quickly as possible so I'll see you all soon." Oak told them before standing and taking his leave with Lance.

"Well then, anything else?" Ash asked.

"Well I have a present for you too, honey. Though I'm afraid I don't have one for you, Clair, as I wasn't expecting you." Delia told the two.

"That's alright Delia, I don't need anything."

"Nonsense, I'll be sure to have a present for you next time you come home. In fact I have two presents for Ash and I'd give you one of them if I thought either of them might suit you but I'm afraid they're better suited for Ash. Just wait here a moment, honey, and I'll get them." Delia said, leaving the room and returning a moment later, with two packages that she handed to Ash. He unwrapped the first and found a piece of fabric inside. It was black and hardy looking on one side while the other was a deep red that looked like it would be very comfortable. He lifted it up and saw the shape realising what it was. "As you can see Ash, that's a travelling cloak I had made for you. I had it made in the traditional colours of the Blackthorn family capes; see how it's just like Clair's? And it should continue to fit you as you grow as well thanks to the design."

"Wow, thanks mom!" Ash exclaimed as he turned to look at Clair, he hadn't actually taken in her full appearance yet, only looked at her face and into her eyes. He saw that she still wore blue shorts and a shirt in the same style as she used to but she now also wore knee-length, heeled boots and a pair of gloves, all of which were the same colour. She had a pair of gold earrings and a choker that held a small sphere, similar to the orb on a Dragonair's neck. He also saw the cape and noticed the similarities to his new cloak; he smiled slightly at the thought of having another thing in common with her. Unfortunately, being a boy, he was unable to prevent his noticing that her body had grown much more shapely, and in all the right places, in the years since they had seen each other. He quickly rid himself of such thought before speaking again. "Your outfit really suits you Clair."

The girl blushed. "Thanks Ash. I think you'll probably look quite handsome with that cloak on as well, not that you don't already."

It was now Ash's turn to blush and Delia watched with slight amusement as her son fumbled for another subject. "Ah, I still have to open the next present." He turned to the other package which was in fact a case. He opened it up and gasped at what was inside of it.

"It's a set of every evolutionary item, two of all the stones and one of everything else too. There's even an everstone in there to make it easier for a Pokémon to resist evolution if it wants to."

"Mom, this is incredible. I can't thank you enough." Ash whispered.

"Oh, it was nothing Ash. I know how much you love your Pokémon so I thought this was the best gift I could get you that you don't already have."

"Wow…" Ash gained a contemplative look for a moment before he reached in and plucked out a thick, tough-looking scale that shimmered like a pearl. "Here Clair. You want your Horsea to evolve into a Kingdra eventually, right? If you have this on you then, when it's ready, you can take that step straight away."

"But Ash, I can't accept this. Sure I want Horsea to evolve in the future but what if you want it before then. And your mom gave it to you as a present, I can't just accept it."

"I think it's a wonderful idea actually!" Delia squealed. "My little Ash is already giving girls presents just because he can. I'm so proud of him."

Ash blushed slightly but otherwise ignored the woman. "Just take it Clair; I want you to have it. Besides, the only thing dragon scales do is help a Horsea, unless you crush it up for medicine, and I don't have a Horsea so you're the only one who can make use of it at the moment. If I want one in the future then I'll just have to find another."

"Thank you Ash." Clair said, caving in and giving Ash a kiss on the cheek in thanks. "I just realised that we never did actually make out relationship official." She added with a slight gasp.

"In that case, Clair Blackthorn, would you like to be my girlfriend?" Ash asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes!" She squealed before catching his lips in a quick but loving kiss. They held the kiss for only a few seconds before they broke apart to simply gaze into each other's eyes.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt your moment." Delia interjected sincerely. "But shouldn't you two be going now? It's beginning to get a little late."

"Oh yeah." Ash conceded as he scratched his head mareepishly again. "I guess we should get going. I'll just pack this case away in my bag and put on the cloak, then we can go." He dashed upstairs and returned a minute later with his new cloak on over the top of a dark blue shirt and black jeans. His backpack was hidden under the cloak as the new couple walked out of the door and set off towards the horizon.

* * *

**Ash's Pokémon:  
****Trapinch (M)  
****Charmander (M)  
****Pikachu (M)  
****Egg (Dratini)**

**Clair's Pokémon:  
****Horsea (F)  
****Egg (Dratini)**

* * *

**So what did you think guys? As always, I'm open to suggestions whether they're for the story or my writing style. Just don't be incredibly rude about it and I'm happy to take note.**

**I wanted to say a few things about the occurrences in this chapter so if you have any qualms take a look before you go jumping to conclusions.**

**First, a few of you might be wondering why the presents wouldn't have suited Clair so here are your answers. The first one was designed for Ash, to fit him, and Clair is not the same size as Ash. Even if she was, she already has something very similar so it would be pointless to give it to her. As for the second gift, Delia knows that Clair always wanted to be a dragon master, much more than Ash did, and that she doesn't intend to catch many Pokemon other than dragon types, at least at this point. Now, how many of the things in that case would be a help to dragon types?**

**Second, Charmander is still a Charmander after 6 years? Yes, he is. Whether or not he is ready to evolve yet is a question even I may not know the answer to. But bear in mind that those six years are to bond with your Pokemon and not to train them. Ash has done just that, with a little bit of training involved. He played with it, explored with it and all manner of other things during the time skip instead, though some people may not have...**

**Third, that was quick... Yes, Ash and Clair did get together pretty damn quickly but that's just how it is in this story. If you think they're being over affectionate at this point then good, because they are. They haven't seen each other for six years and have suddenly got together so they're being pretty overt about it. They will, however, dial it down soon enough and you won't have to 'endure' it if you don't like it.**

**She had that big of an effect on him though? Well, I don't deny that I used my artistic license to quite a degree but oh well, I usually try to keep things fairly realistic so I think I'm entitled to a bit.**

**Why does Lance trust Ash with that gift? Because, throughout his childhood, Ash was the most sincere and kind boy Lance knew of and he couldn't believe that Ash had changed enough for him not to be trusted with it.**

**About the Pokemon list at the end... I will be using that in each chapter but it won't be all his Pokemon, just the ones he has on him at the end of the chapter, including those not technically caught, like eggs. Otherwise, if I did them all, then the list would end up huge in the future and that isn't something I want to write out all the time. After all, I am keeping an up to date spreadsheet of his Pokemon, their abilities, types, genders, moves and more so it's a pretty tiring task all in all.**

**Finally, on another note. I'm currently considering planning a story about the recent discovery of Pokemon in a cross between our world and the Pokemon world. They have recently appeared through a sudden evolution of wildlife, plant-life and other such things but nobody knows what caused it, or if they are even real since the government is covering up any evidence of them they can. But they might have missed some, the evidence held by a young man by the name of Ash Ketchum, student unextraordinaire. When the world finds out about his evidence, how will it react and how will it change his life?**

**So what did you think of the idea, something I should look into or not? If anybody else is inspired to write something like that by this comment then please let me know as I would like to see the outcome, though it won't stop me from writing my own.**

**Next time...  
Chapter 2 - The Herald of Harmony  
A chance to discover the truth behind the colouration of Ash's Trapinch and a chance to discover just how powerful his Pokemon are. Plus, is the return of a being thought to be lost from the world on the horizon again or is its future set in stone.  
**


End file.
